10-24-10 Mullins Center, Amherst, MA Source Review

As Phish powers their way through the Northeast, they begin their final week of this fall tour in Amherst, MA.  For this evening, there are 4 different sources available.  I want to thank the tapers for doing such a great job recording the shows and releasing them to the public so quickly.  They really do a great job.

Source 1 (hereafter Busman source)
Source: Busman Bsc1 (Hypers)>kind cables>Fostex FR-2LE(Busman T-mod)
Location:OTS/LOC/DIN@ 10ft
Transfer: FR-2LE>Wavelab 6.0(Resample and Dithering>CD Wave(tacking>TLH(flac 16 level 8)

Etree Source

Source 2 (hereafter Schoeps Matrix source)
Source: Schoeps mk5> KCY> Schoeps VMS02IB + Schoeps mk41> KC5> M222> NT222> EAA PSP-2> SD 744t (@24bit/96kHz)
Location: OTS, mk5(omni)/Split 10'/0 Degrees/9' Stands, mk41/DFC/NOS/8' Stand
Transfer: SD 744t> Samplitude SE 9.1.1(dither/resample)> CDWave> flac(16/44.1)

Etree Source
24 bit Source

Source 3 (hereafter Sennheiser source)
Field: Sennheiser MD441U > Edirol R4Pro ( Oade preamp mod ) @ 24/88.2
config: pointed at PA array, centered, 12.5 feet high.
Path: R4Pro > WaveBurner ( track on sector boundaries, fades, SRC, BDC ) > xACT ( to flac, and for tagging and checksums )

Etree Source

Source 4 (hereafter MK22 source)
ORTF 60' from stage DFC
Schoeps MK22>KC5>CMC6>Sonosax SX-M2>Apogee Mini-me(aes out 24bit/96khz)>COAX>Edirol R-44
SDHC Card>usb>Macbook Pro>Wave Editor(tracking,fades,resample(izotope)/dither(mbit+)to 16bit/44.1khz)>XAct(FLAC 8,ffp,fix sbe)


Etree Source
24 bit Etree Source

As with previous nights, there are some excellent recordings to choose from.

The Busman source, and really all of them, have excellent levels right from the beginning.  The bass is a little boomy, but the high-end sounds divine.  There is definitely more bass response in this evening's recording as opposed to the 10-23 recording.  The low-end just doesn't have the tonal quality of the Schoeps Matrix.  Bottom line, if I could take the highs and mids from this source and mix them with the lows from the Schoeps Matrix, I would be in heaven.  As it is, the lack of tonal quality in the very low frequencies made me pick the Schoeps over this source.

As I stated above, the Schoeps Matrix is my favorite recording from this evening.  The highs are crisp, but they don't have the presence of the Busman source.  However, the low-end is very nice, though a bit on the boomy side.  There is noticeable tone at the low-end that is absent in the other sources.

The Sennheiser source has more bass than I've come to expect from this source, but it is mostly boom and lacks the really nice tonal quality of the Schoeps Matrix.  This highs are quite nice though.

The FOB MK22 source is definitely the best sounding of the FOB MK22's I've heard this tour.  That said, there is a lot of crowd noise, more than the night before, and for some reason Trey sounds distant.  Notice the chopping that Trey adds during the verses of Ride Captain Ride, or more to the point, the fact that you can only make them out with difficulty.  On the Busman source, they are still quiet, which they are supposed to be, but they are quite distinct.  This source is also not as boomy as previous FOB MK22's, but still not really defined in the lowest frequencies.

For me, I'll be downloading the 24 bit Schoeps Matrix again. 

Happy listening!